E

The Union Crisis

Overview

  • Topic: The Union Crisis (U.S. History Honors, 0.3)

  • Timeframe: lead-up to the Civil War through secession and the start of the war

  • Central tension: expansion of slavery into new territories and states vs. restrictions in existing free areas

Key Legislation and Concepts (early to mid-1800s)

  • Border states: Delaware, ext{ }Maryland, ext{ }Kentucky, ext{ }Missouri

  • Secede: to officially leave an organization

  • The Fugitive Slave Act (1850): part of the Compromise of 1850; law stated that anyone who helped a fugitive slave could be fined or imprisoned

  • Emancipation Proclamation: issued by President Lincoln; freed enslaved people in parts of the Confederacy still in rebellion on ext{Jan. }1,
    1863

  • Habeas Corpus: a legal order guaranteeing the prisoner the right to be heard in court

  • Greenbacks: paper money issued by the U.S. government

The Catalyst Poster and Slave Catching (1851)

  • Cautionary notice in Boston aimed at Black residents:

    • Advises avoiding conversation with watchmen and police officers

    • Claim: watchmen/police were empowered to act as kidnapers; had been employed as slave catchers

    • Warns to value liberty and fugitives’ welfare; shun those officers

  • Public call to watch for and guard against kidnappers

  • Example included: a runaway advertised (NELSON), a Black man about 21 years old, 5'10", copper color, mustache, beard; description and reward details included

  • Rewards escalate by location: 25 county, 50 state, 100 out of state; submitter: HENRY J. BROWN, Independence, MO; dated APRIL ext{ 24, }1851 and a separate notice from Independence, MO (Dec. 12, ext{ }18 ext{??})

The Wilmot Proviso and Emerging Party Lines (1846–1848)

  • Rep. David Wilmot (PA) introduced the Wilmot Proviso: would ban slavery in any lands the U.S. might acquire from Mexico

  • Sen. John C. Calhoun (SC) argued that neither Congress nor territorial governments could ban slavery in a territory or regulate it

  • 1848 Election: Gen. Zachary Taylor (Whigs) and Sen. Lewis Cass (Democrats) ignored the slavery issue

  • Opposition to slavery coalesced into a political movement: Free-Soil Party

    • Slogan: "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men"

The Kansas-Nebraska Act and Popular Sovereignty (1854)

  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act proposed to resolve slavery in new territories via popular sovereignty (voting by residents)

  • Main concern: could empower slave states and spread slavery into free areas

  • Effect: Repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed each territory to vote on slavery

  • Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (IL) advocated repeal of the Missouri Compromise and the institution of popular sovereignty

  • Northern opposition: would permit slavery in areas long free

  • Southern support: expected Kansas would be settled by Missouri slaveholders and would vote for slavery

Territorial Division and the Civil Debate Map (1854)

  • Map elements: unified border between free and slave regions; shows territories and states in 1854

  • Compromise lines referenced:

    • 36°30' line (Missouri Compromise): opened to slavery by popular sovereignty under the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

    • The map contrasts free states/territories versus slave states/territories

  • Regions shown: border areas, Kansas Territory, Nebraska Territory, California, Utah Territory, New Mexico Territory, Arizona, Dakota, etc.

  • Scale: 500 Miles / 500 Kilometers

Bleeding Kansas: Pro- and Anti-Slavery Conflict (mid-1850s)

  • Border ruffians: armed pro-slavery supporters who crossed from Missouri to vote in Kansas

  • Voter manipulation: in Kansas, 1,500 actual voters vs. 6,000 votes claimed in some tallies; pro-slavery victory asserted

  • Two competing governments emerged: Lecompton, KS (pro-slavery) and Topeka, KS (anti-slavery)

  • Civil conflict erupted in Kansas; federal troops intervened to stop bloodshed by 1856

  • Result: nickname "Bleeding Kansas" for the violence and political strife

John Brown and the Kansas Crisis (1856) & Brooks-Sumner Incident (1856)

  • John Brown went to Kansas to defend his sons against pro-slavery violence

  • May 22, 1856: Senator Charles Sumner (Mass.) condemned slavery; Senator Preston Brooks (SC) attacked Sumner on the Senate floor with a cane, causing brain damage

  • Brown’s reaction: after news of the attack on Sumner, Brown began attacking pro-slavery settlers in Kansas

  • Visual references: John Brown, Preston Brooks, and Sumner are key symbols of the sectional crisis

A Famous Slavery Case and Its Aftermath (Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857–1858)

  • Dred Scott, enslaved by a Missouri doctor, moved to Illinois (a free state) and Wisconsin (a free territory) before returning to Missouri

  • Scott sued for freedom, arguing that residence in free territories made him free

  • Supreme Court decision (Chief Justice Roger B. Taney):

    • Dred Scott remained enslaved; he was not a citizen and had no right to sue; he was property

    • Living on free soil did not grant freedom; Congress had no power to ban slavery in a territory (Missouri Compromise unconstitutional)

    • The ruling suggested the Constitution protected slavery

  • Immediate impact: outraged abolitionists and Republicans; called the decision a wicked and false judgment, a grave national crime

Birth of the Republican Party and Realignment (late 1850s)

  • Anti-slavery Whigs joined with Free-Soilers to form the Republican Party

  • Major goal: ban slavery in the territories

  • The Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives and several state governments

  • The party had little support in the South; Democrats gained more support there

  • The era saw a major realignment around slavery and its expansion

1856 Election: First Major Party Realignment (Election Map excerpt)

  • Electoral results (1856): total electoral votes ≈ 296

  • Democratic candidate: James Buchanan (wins presidency)

  • Republican candidate: John C. Fremont

  • American Party (Know-Nothing) candidate: Millard Fillmore

  • Popular vote totals (approximate from the map):

    • Buchanan: about 1{,}838{,}169

    • Fremont: about 1{,}341{,}264

    • Fillmore: about 873{,}?

  • Note: The map shows state-by-state electoral allocations and the split among the three major slates of candidates; the Republicans emerge as a significant national force

Lincoln–Douglas Debates and National Road to 1860 (1858–1859)

  • Abraham Lincoln challenged incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a series of debates for the Illinois Senate seat; there were 7 debates held publicly and widely covered by newspapers

  • The central topic: slavery and its political legality in new and existing territories

  • Douglas argued that slavery could be excluded if voters refused to pass laws; Lincoln leveraged debates to build a national reputation

  • Public attendance was large; debates occurred outdoors and drew thousands

  • Outcome: Lincoln’s national profile rose, but Douglas maintained Southern support; the clash highlighted sectional tensions

Harpers Ferry and the Framing of Opposition (1859)

  • John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA

  • Brown aimed to arm enslaved people and foment a slave revolt; received funding from abolitionists; sought help from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman

  • Local forces and federal troops repelled the raid; Brown was captured and executed by hanging

  • National response varied: the North saw Brown as a martyr; the South saw the raid as proof of a Northern conspiracy against the Southern way of life

Review Questions (for study and self-check)

  • Why did the Republican Party form, and what was its primary objective regarding slavery?

  • What was the ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford, and why did it matter for the national debate over slavery?

  • Who debated for a Senate seat in Illinois in the Lincoln–Douglas Debates, and what was the central issue?

  • What happened at Harpers Ferry, and why did it have such a profound impact on the sectional crisis?

The 1860 Election, Secession, and the Onset of War

  • The 1860 Election posed the question: Will the Union survive?

  • Slavery was the main issue; Lincoln (Republican) won the presidency without appearing on the ballot in the Southern states

  • Republicans did not advocate ending slavery where it already existed; they aimed to ban slavery in new territories

  • The party system fractured along sectional lines, signaling divisions that would lead to disunion

  • December 20, 1860: South Carolina seceded from the Union; by February, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia had joined

  • Formation of the Confederate States of America; the central justification centered on States’ rights

Secession, Negotiation, and Fort Sumter (1860–1861)

  • Secessionists left the Union as the threat of Republican anti-slavery expansion grew

  • The Confederate States of America claimed independence and sought to preserve slavery in new jurisdictions

  • Fort Sumter: a U.S. fort guarding the Charleston Harbor; Lincoln sent an unarmed relief expedition when the fort lacked supplies

  • Jefferson Davis ordered an attack on Fort Sumter; bombardment began, with no initial casualties

  • The attack on Fort Sumter marks the BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR

Connections to Foundational Principles and Real-World Relevance

  • The debates over slavery’s expansion tested the constitutional balance between federal power and states’ rights

  • The Compromise of 1850, the Missouri Compromise, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act reveal how political compromises attempted to resolve conflicts yet ultimately escalated tensions

  • The Dred Scott decision showcased how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of citizenship and property rights influenced national political dynamics

  • The rise of the Republican Party demonstrates how new political coalitions emerged in response to a central moral and economic conflict about slavery

  • The events in Kansas—Bleeding Kansas—illustrated how political disagreements could erupt into violence at the local level, foretelling civil war

  • The Lincoln–Douglas Debates helped crystallize national debates on sovereignty, slavery, and federal authority, shaping the presidential contest of 1860

  • The Harpers Ferry raid highlighted how abolitionist actions and federal responses amplified sectional distrust and fear on both sides

  • The 1860 election outcome and subsequent secession demonstrate how electoral processes can rapidly transform into constitutional crisis and war

Key Dates and Terms to Memorize (LaTeX-ready references)

  • 1848 Election: Taylor (Whigs) vs. Cass (Democrats) on slavery issue; ignored slavery in campaign

  • 1850 Compromise and Fugitive Slave Act

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